If you want to protect your skin and your health, wearing sunscreen is a good daily habit to implement. And you can keep your routine simple if your makeup doubles as sun protection.
It’s important to protect your skin from the sun. It causes skin cancer, as well as premature aging in the form of discoloration and wrinkles. The preventative step of wearing sunscreen will do more for your skin in the long run than any expensive anti-wrinkle cream.
Sunscreen has come a long way in cosmetic formulations. No longer do you have to slather on what feels like greasepaint to protect yourself from the sun. And there are sunscreens for every skin type, whether yours is sensitive, dry, or oily.
One of the best cosmetic categories to take off in recent years is makeup with built-in sun protection factors (SPF). These products include tinted sunscreens and beauty balm (BB) creams.
These products are formulated to endure both sweat and heat, so they’re ideal for warmer weather. This type of makeup is also a great way to get in the habit of wearing products with SPF year-round. Sun damage doesn’t occur only in the summer. Cloud cover doesn’t block out radiation, but most people don’t think to wear sunscreen on an overcast day in October.
What Makes a Good Tinted Sunscreen?
To make these products work for you, however, you need to know how to distinguish the solid stuff from the duds. Not all makeup is created equal—if you hate how it looks, you won’t use it. And if it looks great but only offers SPF 15, and the sunscreen blocks ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, but not ultraviolet A (UVA), it’s not adequate protection for your face.
So, what makes one tinted sunscreen better than another? Here are some details to consider:
- Sun Protection Factor (SPF): Anything after SPF 30 begins to have diminishing returns. If you jump from SPF 15 to 30, it bumps the amount of rays you’re blocking from 93 to 97 percent. But an SPF 50 only takes you up to 98 percent. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends a minimum of SPF 15, and SPF 30 for more extended or intense sun exposure.
- UVA & UVB: The sun emits both short- (UVB) and long-wave (UVA) radiation, and both are harmful. UVB causes sunburns, but UVA causes aging. A product that only blocks one of these isn’t worth your money. “Broad-spectrum” designates sunscreens that protect against both types of radiation. The Skin Cancer Foundation has a more in-depth explanation about how sunscreens work, as well as a handy chart of what UV range each FDA-approved sunscreen covers.
- Broad-Spectrum: Different chemical sunscreens cover different ranges of UVA and UVB rays. This is why you see them used in combination. UVA is further broken down into UVA1 and UVA2, so it’s important to make sure the formulation covers the entire range. Even a broad-spectrum label can mean a product protects against the entire UVB range, but only half of the UVA.
- Physical versus Chemical Sunscreens: Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are both physical blockers, meaning they deflect ultraviolet radiation. While zinc oxide deflects the full spectrum of both UVB and UVA rays, titanium dioxide deflects all of UVB, but only UVA2, so you want both. Chemical sunscreens, on the other hand, absorb UV, but vary in whether that includes UVA, UVB, or both. Physical sunscreens are responsible for the white cast many people associate with sunscreens, although cosmetic formulas have improved since the days of the white-nosed lifeguard. Still, tinted formulations using physical sunblocks might not be best if you have a darker skin tone. Physical blocks are better for people with more sensitive skin that might be irritated by chemical sunscreens. Zinc oxide is also a skin protectant, which is why it’s in most diaper rash creams.
Our picks all have a minimum SPF of 30 to protect you whether you spend most of your day indoors or out. They also all have a combination of either physical or chemical sunscreens to ensure they protect you from the entire spectrum of UVB, UVA1, and UVA2.
Best Overall: Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm
